NL roundup: Nationals' Strasburg improves to 14-5

Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg improved to 14-5 in a 6-4 win against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday in San Francisco. Strasburg went six innings, allowed four hits and two runs, walked four, and struck out seven.

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Stephen Strasburg outpitched Tim Lincecum, Danny Espinosa hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the third inning and the Washington Nationals beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-4, on Wednesday.

One hitter Strasburg (14-5) didn’t have to face: All-Star game MVP Melky Cabrera, who was suspended 50 games earlier in the day for a positive testosterone test.

Jayson Werth drove in three runs and Kurt Suzuki added a sacrifice fly for the NL East-leading Nationals, who won their fourth straight series and head home for key series against divisional opponents New York and Atlanta.

■ Marlins 9, Phillies 2: In Miami, Greg Dobbs drove in Miami’s first run in 31 innings then hit a go-ahead homer in the sixth off Roy Halladay to help the Marlins beat Philadelphia.

■Cubs 7, Astros 2: In Chicago, David DeJesus homered twice and tied a career best with four hits, and Justin Germano cruised through six innings to lead Chicago over Houston.

Starlin Castro hit a two-run homer among his three hits for Chicago.

Germano (2-2) allowed two runs over 6 1-3 innings. He struck out six and walked one.

■Rockies 7, Brewers 6: In Denver, Tyler Colvin hit a two-run double down the first base line in the ninth inning, rallying Colorado to a win over Milwaukee.

■Dodgers 9, Pirates 3: In Pittsburgh, Clayton Kershaw won his fourth consecutive start and Matt Kemp drove in three runs for Los Angeles, which moved into first place in the NL West.

Kemp had a two-run double and scored during the Dodgers’ three-run fourth against Wandy Rodriguez (7-12). Shane Victorino singled and scored in that inning, part of his 3-for-5, two-run game.

■Reds 6, Mets 1: In Cinncinati, Scott Rolen and Todd Frazier hit back-to-back home runs, and Mike Leake pitched his second complete game of the season to help Cincinnati extend its winning streak to five.

■ Braves 6, Padres 1: In Atlanta, Dan Uggla’s three-run homer in the third inning gave Atlanta the lead and Paul Maholm threw seven strong innings.

Uggla is hitting only .215 but has homers in two straight games, giving him 15. Jason Heyward had a two-run double in Atlanta’s three-run fourth inning.

■ Cardinals 5, Diamondbacks 2: In St. Louis, Adam Wainwright allowed two runs in six innings, and the St. Louis Cardinals got home runs from David Freese and Allen Craig in a win against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rafael Furcal’s two-run triple in the sixth gave the Cards a three-run lead.

St. Louis homered twice for the second straight game and will go for a sweep of the three-game series behind 12-game winner Kyle Lohse on Thursday night.

The Cardinals are 5-0 against the Diamondbacks this year and have won seven straight dating to last year.

Wainwright (11-10) was 0-3 in April before starting to regain his form. He’s 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA in his past five starts.

Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt hit a homer estimated at 456 feet, longest by an opposing player at seven-year-old Busch Stadium, in the fourth.